Legal Protections At Risk If Deal Not Reached

A policy implemented in the aftermath of 9/11 that calls on European airlines to share information on passengers flying into the US may be in jeopardy, unless an agreement is reached between the two sides by the end of this month.

Currently, information such as name, address, phone number, and ticket payment method for passengers aboard US-bound flights from Europe is available on the request of US officials. A European Union court put an end to that practice in May, however, citing a legal technicality... and gave officials on both sides until the end of September to come up with a better way.

Well, the end of the month is fast approaching... and so far, both sides remain deadlocked.

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says he wants even greater access to passenger data than is currently allowed... but the EU's justice chief says time is short, and the US should agree to changing the legal framework of the proposal, but not the terms of the original deal. That discussion should wait until next year, when the policy comes up for review.

"The most important need is to guarantee the continuity of application of the ... agreement, and legal certainty," EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini told Reuters before the current talks began. "I ask the US to agree on the same substance."

Currently, airlines face fines of up to $6,000 per passenger if they don't share the information... and while that practice would like stay much the same even in the absence of a new deal, the way that data is shared would change... to a far less secure method than before.

And that, officials say, would likely spark a significant increase in the amount of traveller complaints... as fliers discover their personal information is suddenly available to more people than just security officials.

FMI: www.eu.int, www.dhs.gov